With female vocals and three clarinets, this avant-jazz jazz song cycle draws on poetry from various places and eras.

This original avant jazz song cycle project draws on poetry (sung in English) from various places and eras. Its four composer-improvisors are Ayelet Rose Gottlieb (vocals) and clarinetists François Houle, James Falzone and Michael Winograd. The sound is kaleidoscopic - many worlds entangled - with extended techniques and layered effects blending with soulfulness and an exposed vulnerability. Jewish-music intertwines with contemporary classical compositions and free-jazz improvisations.

Pneuma(πνεῦμα) is an ancient Greek word for ''breath,'' ''spirit'' or ''soul,'' and group's instrumentation is unusual and full of breath, allowing every band member to re-imagine their role and find their ground in new and innovative ways. The quartet zooms in and out, shifting perspectives from the very personal to the global, from intimacy to a loud roar. The poetry comes from many corners of the world, including Christina Rossetti (England), Forugh Farrokhzad (Iran), James Joyce (Ireland), Mayumi Terada (Japan), and Ono no Komachi (9th century Japan). These texts alternate with wordless pieces such as Gottlieb's ''Neither You nor I,'' inspired by a solo by the late Israeli bassist Ora Boasson-Horev.

Pneumapremiered at the 2017 Vancouver International Jazz Festival, where critic Alexander Varty commented: ''It's strange to think that a band of three clarinets and a single voice can conjure up a world of infinite possibilities, but that's what Pneuma delivers. Gottlieb's caramel-rich voice and instrumentalists Falzone, Houle, and Winograd work together as one as they uncork everything from klezmer lamentation to out-there sonic surgery. Music this beautiful, intricate, and heartfelt deserves to be celebrated--and treasured.''

Track Listing

• Alone
• Neither I nor You / Pneuma
• Trembling / Light
• Passing Through / Lament for Harry
• Neither You nor I / Conversation with Ora
• Bow Down / The Wind Will Take Us
• Passing By / The Shape of Tears
• Who Has Seen the Wind'
• Wakened by the Scent
• Who Can Say What Loneliness Is
• Ruined House
• This Pine Tree
• The Last Rose of Summer

Additional Details

Label: Songlines

Genre: Jazz

Language: English

Run Time: 46:51 mins

Region: 0

Release Date: 05/24/19

UPC: 774355162927